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Shell to Leave ALEC

Statement by Angela Anderson, Climate and Energy Program Director at the Union of Concerned Scientists

Washington (August 7, 2015)—Shell told media outlets earlier today that it will allow its association with the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) to lapse, a move the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) has urged the company to make for more than a year through meetings with Shell employees and petitions from more than 130,000 scientists and citizens.

Below is a statement by Angela Anderson, director of UCS’s Climate and Energy Program.

“Shell’s leadership has recognized that the company’s membership in ALEC is at odds with its acceptance of climate science. We’re happy that they’ve responded to scientists and investors who have been urging Shell to sever its ties with ALEC. It’s simply untenable for companies to ask policymakers to adopt a carbon price while supporting groups that fight climate and clean energy policies and spread misinformation about climate science. If other fossil fuel companies want to be taken seriously when they say they support action on climate change, they should do the same.”

Chevron, Exxon-Mobil and Peabody Coal still support ALEC while BP, ConocoPhillips and Occidental Petroleum have all left the organization in recent months, along with tech giants including Google and eBay.